How to be an eBay sleuth...

It's funny how one thing can lead to another.
First of all I spotted this one: http://tinyurl.com/hboe
I'm a laptop dealer so was intrigued at why somebody would list a sub-£200
laptop at £800, and why somebody would bid on it. Then I saw the £150
postage charge! Do a "View sellers other items" for more of the same.
So I looked at the bidder to see where the feedback came from. It was this
unlikely looking auction: http://tinyurl.com/hbot. Seller has a +2 feedback,
one reciprocal and one from a suspended Indonesian with a -3.

So, within a few minutes you too can uncover what appears to be the early
stages of a conspiracy :-) I'm sure this sort of thing is rife - it was nice
on this occasion to follow the trail back to Indonesia.

--
Richard Warr
Stevenage

Richard Warr wrote:
> It's funny how one thing can lead to another.
> First of all I spotted this one: http://tinyurl.com/hboe
> I'm a laptop dealer so was intrigued at why somebody would list a
> sub-£200 laptop at £800, and why somebody would bid on it. Then I saw
> the £150 postage charge! Do a "View sellers other items" for more of
> the same.
> So I looked at the bidder to see where the feedback came from. It was
> this unlikely looking auction: http://tinyurl.com/hbot. Seller has a
> +2 feedback, one reciprocal and one from a suspended Indonesian with
> a -3.
>
> So, within a few minutes you too can uncover what appears to be the
> early stages of a conspiracy :-) I'm sure this sort of thing is rife
> - it was nice on this occasion to follow the trail back to Indonesia.

Some sort of conspiracy indeed, although I haven't yet figured it out. The
laptop was only worth about £150, apart from the postage charge!

According to today's Sun newspaper, somebody is offering a hundred bottles
of "British air, hand-filled outside Buckingham Palace" - a snip at £9.99 a
time, although I haven't yet been able to find the auction. There's also
one for bottles of River Jordan water, complete with a certificate of
authentification. Anybody interested in a bottle of River Tees water,
sampled from under the transporter bridge, as featured in 'Auf Wiedersehen
Pet'?

Terry D.

I'd like 5 gross of your River Tees water, please. It must be taken
from the middle of the river at a depth of 25 feet.


On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 17:43:08 +0100, "Terry Dutson"
<terry.dutson@ntlworld.com> wrote:

>Richard Warr wrote:
>> It's funny how one thing can lead to another.
>> First of all I spotted this one: http://tinyurl.com/hboe
>> I'm a laptop dealer so was intrigued at why somebody would list a
>> sub-£200 laptop at £800, and why somebody would bid on it. Then I saw
>> the £150 postage charge! Do a "View sellers other items" for more of
>> the same.
>> So I looked at the bidder to see where the feedback came from. It was
>> this unlikely looking auction: http://tinyurl.com/hbot. Seller has a
>> +2 feedback, one reciprocal and one from a suspended Indonesian with
>> a -3.
>>
>> So, within a few minutes you too can uncover what appears to be the
>> early stages of a conspiracy :-) I'm sure this sort of thing is rife
>> - it was nice on this occasion to follow the trail back to Indonesia.
>
>Some sort of conspiracy indeed, although I haven't yet figured it out. The
>laptop was only worth about £150, apart from the postage charge!
>
>According to today's Sun newspaper, somebody is offering a hundred bottles
>of "British air, hand-filled outside Buckingham Palace" - a snip at £9.99 a
>time, although I haven't yet been able to find the auction. There's also
>one for bottles of River Jordan water, complete with a certificate of
>authentification. Anybody interested in a bottle of River Tees water,
>sampled from under the transporter bridge, as featured in 'Auf Wiedersehen
>Pet'?
>
>Terry D.
>
>
>
>

BORG wrote:
>
> but have you informed EBay so they can shut it down if it is a scam ?
They'd do nothing at the moment as there's no real evidence and I don't
believe anybody has been wronged. But it's on file (and on here) for the
next round of auctions ;-)
--
Richard Warr
Stevenage

"Richard Warr" <richard@warr.cc> wrote in message
news:qeYRa.385$l63.10117@newsfep4-glfd.server.ntli.net...
> BORG wrote:
> >
> > but have you informed EBay so they can shut it down if it is a scam ?
> They'd do nothing at the moment as there's no real evidence and I don't
> believe anybody has been wronged. But it's on file (and on here) for the
> next round of auctions ;-)


Sorry but I'm completely missing something here. What do you think they're
up to, exactly?

Tom

Dr Zoidberg wrote:
> Tom Morgan wrote:
>> Sorry but I'm completely missing something here. What do you think
>> they're up to, exactly?
>>
> Building up a history of selling expensive items (that don't exist)
> and getting good feedback (from themselves) so they can advertise a
> load more stuff , take payment , then disappear

Hey, there's more to you than a lobster with a Marigold glove for a top lip
after all :-)
--
Richard Warr
Stevenage

> On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 17:43:08 +0100, "Terry Dutson"
> <terry.dutson@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> >
> >Some sort of conspiracy indeed, although I haven't yet figured it out.
The
> >laptop was only worth about £150, apart from the postage charge!
> >
> >According to today's Sun newspaper, somebody is offering a hundred
bottles
> >of "British air, hand-filled outside Buckingham Palace" - a snip at £9.99
a
> >time, although I haven't yet been able to find the auction. There's also
> >one for bottles of River Jordan water, complete with a certificate of
> >authentification. Anybody interested in a bottle of River Tees water,
> >sampled from under the transporter bridge, as featured in 'Auf
Wiedersehen
> >Pet'?
> >
> >Terry D.
> >
> >"Jupiter" <jupiter@shotmail.com> wrote in message
news:adfghvo51q0u6cuid1cj63kq06n0465pcu@4ax.com...
> I'd like 5 gross of your River Tees water, please. It must be taken
> from the middle of the river at a depth of 25 feet.

No problem with that. I'll just drop a suitable container on a rope when
I'm next on the transporter bridge. So that'll be 720 bottles at £9.99 each
= £7192.80 plus the P&P at cost. Bottles will be labelled with a photo of
the bridge, a certificate of authenticity and a statutory health warning.
PayPal or Nochex both acceptable. I'm booking my flight to the Bahamas
tomorrow :-)

Terry D.

<snip>
> According to today's Sun newspaper, somebody is offering a hundred bottles
> of "British air, hand-filled outside Buckingham Palace" - a snip at £9.99
a
> time, although I haven't yet been able to find the auction. There's also
> one for bottles of River Jordan water, complete with a certificate of
> authentification. Anybody interested in a bottle of River Tees water,
> sampled from under the transporter bridge, as featured in 'Auf
Wiedersehen
> Pet'?
>
> Terry D.
>


http://tinyurl.com/hh60

is one thats actually sold. View his other items, he's a busy bloke! lol